In this series, professionals share the words of wisdom that made all the difference in their lives. Follow the stories here and write your own (please include the hashtag #BestAdvice in the body of your post).
In the mid-80s, I was faced with a shift in my career that felt both dramatic and traumatic. After 15 years as an endocrinologist in Boston, I was strongly pulled toward mind-body medicine instead. Could I give up a thriving practice for a field that was, at the time, still marginal? I knew many highly respected physicians who didn't believe the mind-body connection even existed.
In the midst of my quandary, I met Dr. Triguna, the most prominent Ayurvedic physician in India, and it's he who gave me the piece of advice that reshaped my career.
Just be sure," he said, "that you match your job, your career, and your calling."
What's so striking about these words is that he was giving me medical advice, in a very holistic sense. In India your calling, the thing you were meant to do, is Dharma, a word that means much more than finding a job you love. Your Dharma is the work that will be supported by your surroundings and circumstances, your relationships and your innate gifts.
Courtesy of YouTube/The ChopraWell
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I think this goes a step further than the Western adage, "Do what you love. The money will come later” or variants on that idea. Triguna was telling me that if I wanted a fulfilled life that was also good for mind and body, then job, career, and calling must match.
A job is how you make money. A career is how you make your mark. A calling is how you acknowledge a higher vision, whatever it may be.
After pondering what Triguna had said, I made the leap into a new career.
No matter how much or little success might have followed, I was sure it fulfilled the criteria he set down.
Deepak Chopra, MD is the author of more than 80 books with 22 New York Times.He serves as the founder of The Chopra Foundation and co-founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing. Coming soon,The Future of God (Harmony, November 11, 2014)
Middle photo: Gabriela Rangel